Better if You Didn't Know
by Maeven
Summary: AU - Tohru moves into a haunted house. The Sohmas are a family of "ghostbusters" but can they save Tohru before it's too late? This is a really bad summary...please don't get scared off ^_^ *ON HIATUS*
1. Housewarming

Hey guys, I'm so sorry about starting a new fic before ending my other one, Jyuuni, but I just can't help it!! ^_^ I got this idea stuck in my head and it wouldn't stop bothering me so here you have it: a nice horror story with the Furaba characters...please review!!  
  
~Maeven~  
  
Chapter One: Housewarming  
  
Honda Tohru chewed her lip nervously as she peered up at an old, gloomy house hidden by the shadows on towering trees lining its sides. 'Well, now I get why this house is so cheap.' She sighed and then smiled brightly. 'Yosh! This is my new home! Time to move in and begin my new life!!' She turned around and was about to beckon the moving men in but they backed away nervously and gulped. "A.ano, miss, here you go," they handed back her money. She stared at it, confused. "We - we have another job to do. S -sorry. Afraid we can't help you move in. Maybe you can try another company...although, I doubt anyone would want to go into the Aoi House. Um, may god bless you, kiddo," they ran back to their truck and tires squealing, they drove away.  
  
"B - but..." she stared despondently at the truck. "What just happened?"  
  
She sighed and pocketed her money. 'Oh well, at least I can save my money.' She looked around at the boxes and rolled up her sleeves. One by one, she began to transport her belongings into the house. Inside, it was just as spooky and dusty, although after her vigorous scrubbing, it began to look a little better. Thin trails of wane sunlight came through but it did nothing to dissipate the aura of coldness. 'It's probably the trees' shading,' she looked around. It was a two-story house and way too big for one girl to live in, but she had rejoiced when she found out that the price was even cheaper than those for a one room apartment. 'Must be my lucky day.'  
  
She went back out and bit her lip as she stared at a huge mahogany wardrobe. It was the one piece of furniture her mother had loved and she had been determined to keep it. "Oh man...how am I going to take this in?" she moaned as she tried to drag it in. She took in a deep breath and tried to lift in but to her horror, it was way out of her league and began tilting, threatening to crush her underneath its heavy weight. She closed her eyes tightly but to her surprise, the load began to lighten. She opened one eye and peeked cautiously.  
  
A boy with beautiful lavender silver hair smiled gently down at her, he held the other end firmly in his grasp. "You okay, miss?" he asked quietly.  
  
Her face flushed and she grabbed her end with a stronger grip. "Uh...yea, thank you."  
  
"No problem. Shall I help you with this? It's way too much for a girl like you."  
  
"Um, yes, thank you."  
  
"Sure." They maneuvered the heavy furniture into the house and set it down in her room, a huge area with creamy yellow walls. She had painted it herself, preferring a happy bright color. It was a contrast to the rest of the house.  
  
They went back downstairs. She blew a strand of her brown hair out of her eyes and smiled brightly at the handsome boy. "Hi, my name is Honda Tohru. I just moved in. Thank you for your help."  
  
He smiled back. "Nice to meet you."  
  
"Um...do you know why people are so scared of this place? I had to keep the location a secret to get those moving men to come but they still abandoned me when they saw this house."  
  
His smile faltered. "It's better if you didn't know."  
  
Tohru blinked, taken back. "Um, okay. Uh, do you want a drink?" She turned around and went to the fridge. "How about a soda?" She turned around and to her surprise, the mysterious boy was gone. "Huh? Hey...you?" She groaned as she remembered that she forgot to ask for his name. 'Darn and I thought I had just made my first friend.'  
  
* * *  
  
That night, Tohru tossed and turned in her bed. She stared up at the dark shadows playing on the wall. It was scary, sleeping alone in such a big place. 'Okaa-san, I miss you so much.' She stared at her mother's picture on the nightstand beside her bed and she brushed a tear away. 'Stop it, Tohru. If you get started, you'll never stop. Stop this.'  
  
She heaved a big sigh and turned to her side just as something slammed into the center of her bed. She spun around and saw a glistening sword blade just inches from her. Shocked, she tumbled out of bed and onto the floor. "Oof," she struggled to extract herself from her sheets when the sword was yanked out and somebody walked around the bed towards her.  
  
Her eyes widened as in the dim moonlight, a pair of glowing scarlet eyes met hers. She let a scream.  
  
* * *  
  
"What the?!" The lights flickered on and to her shock, she found the crimson eyes belonged to a tall, tanned boy with short fiery orange hair; he shifted his flame-colored sword to his shoulder. He scowled at her. "A girl?! Damn it, I thought I had finally caught her!"  
  
They both said, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Baka neko." Their eyes shifted to the window, where the boy she met earlier sat perched on the windowsill. His own silver sword was in his hands and he rested his chin on the handle, keeping the shiny blade encased in a clear ice-like holder. "If you pay more attention to your surroundings, you would have noticed that she moved in this afternoon."  
  
"Kuso nezumi...how would I know someone would move into this house?!"  
  
She sensed a fight was about to commence and she wasn't exactly happy it would occur in her room with both boys holding razor like swords. "A-ano, can someone tell me who you guys are and why you're here in my house in the middle of the night?"  
  
They blinked and turned to her in surprise. She had a feeling they had forgotten that she was in the room. The lavender haired boy smiled gently and leaped down from his seat. He swept her a bow and responded, "My name is Sohma Yuki and this baka over here is my cousin, Sohma Kyou." The other boy clenched his fist and gave her a curt nod.  
  
"Um, please to meet you both. I finally got your name. Thank you again for helping me this afternoon! My name is -" she was interrupted.  
  
"Honda Tohru," the boy finished quietly. "I know." She blushed. 'He remembered me!!'  
  
Then she blinked and shook out of her daze. "But why were you guys here?"  
  
Kyou frowned, "To catch -"  
  
"- a cat," Yuki interrupted. "We were here to catch a cat. We saw it enter the house. These strays are all over the place and have all kinds of diseases. I didn't want one of them to contaminate you."  
  
She reddened again and furrowed her eyebrow. "Thanks...but you catch cats with swords?" She pointed to their weapons.  
  
"I don't like cats much," Yuki shrugged and Kyou's vein throbbed in his forehead.  
  
"Baka nezumi!! Wait til I get my hands on -" the orange-haired boy snarled. He stopped as he noticed her shocked look. "I'm going home." He turned around but paused when Tohru called out, "Um, good night, Kyou-kun."  
  
The boy turned his head and stared at her, startled. A lazy lopsided grin graced his face as he responded gruffly, "Night, Tohru. Sorry about the visit." And with that, he leaped out of the window. She stared, flabbergasted, at the empty space with the curtains billowing around.  
  
"Good night, Honda-san," Yuki smiled at her and with those words, he too exited in a similar fashion.  
  
She plopped down on her bed, dazed. 'What a...nice...housewarming. At least I made a couple of friends.' A cold breeze brushed against her and she shivered. She closed the window but the chill that seeped into the room didn't disperse throughout the night. 


	2. A Ghost

Chapter Two: A Ghost  
  
Tohru stepped out of her new house...she still can't really call it her home. She was eager to leave the cold, lonely place; it gave her the creeps, practically echoing with silence. As she stepped out of the trees' shadow, she shaded her eyes at the blinding sunlight.  
  
"OI!! Kuso nezumi! I saw you yesterday night!! You purposely left this candy wrapper on my property!!"  
  
She jumped in surprise. She looked to her right and saw Kyou with his ruby eyes blazing and his fist clenched. He was standing on the lawn of a huge pale yellow house.  
  
"Baka neko, what proof do you have that it's mine?"  
  
She directed her gaze to her left and saw Yuki with his arms crossed in front of a large milky white house. He was yawning and staring back at his infuriated cousin coolly. So they were her neighbors...and her house was the buffer zone between their places.  
  
Her eyes darted back and forth between the two squabbling guys and she ventured, "Um, good morning, Sohma-kun, Kyou-kun."  
  
Their eyes fell on her and she blinked nervously under their intense gazes. They seemed to be assessing her up and down. Finally, it appeared that they were satisfied and they smiled. "Morning," they mumbled.  
  
She bit her lip and walked down the driveway. She wanted to get to school early since it was her first day and all. To her surprise, her two neighbors accompanied her.  
  
"Did you sleep well, Honda-san?" Yuki inquired politely.  
  
"Yea, did anything...um...go bump in the night?" Kyou asked.  
  
"Uh...after you guys left, the room got extremely cold but I huddled up in my bed and slept like a log until morning. Why?" Tohru responded.  
  
"Hmmm...cold?" Kyou pondered. Yuki frowned.  
  
"Uh, yea, but I bet old houses always have heating problems."  
  
"Uh-huh," they responded absentmindedly.  
  
She reached her school and smiled at them confusedly. "Uh, thanks for walking me to school, I guess."  
  
Yuki blinked and smiled, "Honda-san, we go to the same school. There's only one in this neighborhood." Kyou grinned, bemused.  
  
"Oh," she felt stupid. "Of course...hehe, oops. I'm new here so I don't know...all right, I guess -"  
  
"Tohru?! Is that you?" a voice called out. Tohru turned around and found her childhood friends, Uotani Arisa and Hanajima Saki, staring at her.  
  
"Uo-chan! Hana-chan! You guys go to this school too? I haven't seen you in ages!!" Tohru hugged the girls. "This is so great! I was afraid I won't make any friends and be all alone."  
  
Uotani grinned, "You haven't changed at all! Still the same sweet little innocent girl! How's your mother?"  
  
Tohru's smile faded. "I'm afraid - I'm afraid she passed away in a car accident two months ago."  
  
The other two girls softened and wrapped their arms around Tohru. "I'm so sorry, Tohru," Hanajima whispered. "Are you living with your relatives now since your father also..."  
  
The brown-haired girl shook her head, "No...I'm living by myself now. Grandfather's my guardian but I didn't want to burden him anymore; his daughter and her family just moved in with him too. I got a great deal on a house and now I'm living independently, paying the rent with my own money; I've been working part-time and mother also left me some money."  
  
Everyone stared at her, including her new neighbors.  
  
Kyou spoke softly, "So...you really are all alone in that house."  
  
Uotani bit her lip, "It must be hard. Where is it that you're living?"  
  
Tohru smiled brightly, "At the old Aoi House! Come visit me sometimes, ne?"  
  
Uotani's eyes widened and the air around Hanajima crackled. "You don't mean that place on Oak Road, do you?" Tohru nodded.  
  
"Tohru! My god, don't you know -" The school bell rang and Tohru's eyes widened.  
  
"Oh no! I'm late! I didn't even go to the administration office yet! I'll see you guys later!!" She ran off, leaving her friends staring.  
  
"Oi, Carrot Top, you're her neighbor! Didn't you warn her?" Uotani snapped.  
  
The boy bristled. "She won't come to any harm with a Sohma around."  
  
Uotani frowned, "That's what you guys said last time..."  
  
"L-O-V-E M-E! YUKI!!" The high school prince sighed and walked off before his fan club could reach him. Another school year, another neighbor, another time for trouble.  
  
* * *  
  
The school bell rang, signaling the end of the day. Tohru packed up her books and trudged out of the building wearily. The hallways roared with noise as students met up with their friends and chattered away. She pushed her way through and finally exited the crowded school. Shuffling along, she got lost in her thoughts as she made her way home. 'Okaa-san, it's so weird today. Everyone was so friendly to me up to the point when I told them where I lived. For the rest of the day, people just whispered behind my backs and threw me weird looks. What should I do?'  
  
"TOHRU!"  
  
She jumped and turned around to meet a panting Kyou. "Uh, hi, Kyou-kun!"  
  
"Hi?! I've been calling your name for the past five minutes. People were staring at me like I'm crazy!"  
  
"That's because you probably are," Yuki retorted calmly as he caught up with them. The other boy's hair stood up on edges and he shot daggers at the amethyst eyed teenager. "Honda-san, is something wrong? How come you didn't even hear this baka's earsplitting voice?" Both boys frowned and Kyou reached out to spin the girl around; their eyes evaluated her carefully like this morning.  
  
"No...there's nothing dark about you..." Yuki muttered.  
  
"Huh?" she blinked.  
  
Both guys grinned sheepishly and walked ahead. "Nothing! Nothing! Let's go!"  
  
She trudged after them and nearly walked into their backs when they suddenly stopped. "Honda-san..." Yuki began. "Do you, um, realize ..."  
  
"Tohru, do you have any idea ..." Kyou trailed off.  
  
She blinked. "What?"  
  
"...the, well, story behind your house?" Yuki finished, tilting his head slightly to study her reaction with his inquisitive eyes.  
  
"Oh...do you mean how they say it's haunted?"  
  
Both boys nearly collapsed. "BAKA!" Kyou yelled. "You know?! Then why the hell would you move in? Who in their right mind will - god...you must be stupider than I thought..."  
  
"Huh? You mean the story is true? I thought it was some old story to capture tourists...I don't really believe in ghosts," Tohru bit her lip. "Do you think that's the reason why everybody in school's avoiding me?"  
  
"YOU THINK?!" Kyou blew up. "Listen, just move away now...before anything happens...just leave the place."  
  
"B-but I just settled in. Besides," she smiled brightly. "I slept alone all night yesterday and I didn't notice anything strange...besides you guys jumping into my room to catch a cat...I really think the story is just a myth...there's nothing wrong and the rent is really cheap! I think the gloomy atmosphere just scares some people."  
  
Yuki furrowed his eyebrows, "Honda-san, it's not just a myth...for the first time in his life, the baka is right. You need to leave right away."  
  
Tohru asked dejectedly, "You guys don't want me as your neighbor, do you?"  
  
"NO!" both guys shouted. "That's not it...in fact, you're really nice and we would love to...ahem, I mean, you just shouldn't be here...it's just not safe."  
  
Tohru smiled softly. "It's okay. Thank you for worrying, but I'll survive. It's getting late. I'm going to go in now! See you tomorrow!"  
  
Before they could say anything more, the girl stepped into the house and closed it. They glared up at the two story abode, with a challenging glint in their eyes. 'That's just it, Tohru...we don't know if you will survive.'  
  
* * *  
  
Tohru stepped out of the shower and toweled her wet hair. All of a sudden, she heard a loud crash downstairs and she grew uneasy. Creeping down the hallway quietly, she grabbed an umbrella to be used as a potential weapon. Whoever - or whatever - it was, better be prepared.  
  
She tiptoed down the stairs and taking a deep breath, took a look into the living room. To her shock, everything was a mess. Her books were thrown everywhere, her table was overturned, and her mini-couch was moved to the other side of the room. She dropped her umbrella and looked around, running a hand through her hair. 'What happened?'  
  
Her eyes caught on a small piece of paper. She picked it up and in a huge crimson scrawl, it read: LEAVE NOW BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE.....  
  
She dropped the note and it fluttered down to the floor slowly. She closed her eyes tightly and breathed deeply. 'It must be a joke...of course, one of those kids down the block must be playing a prank on her. It must be. It must be. There's no such thing as a ghost. There's no such thing...'  
  
* * *  
  
In his house, Yuki picked up the phone and dialed. He cradled it between his chin and his shoulder as he washed the strawberries he picked from his garden. He bit into one just as someone picked up from the other end.  
  
"Hello? Hatori?" he said. "It's me, Yuki. Somebody moved into the Aoi place again. Yes, it's a girl." He paused to listen.  
  
"No, she wouldn't listen. She won't leave. I guess I can't blame her. She's all alone. Her mother just passed away...it's her first home she found." He stopped talking again.  
  
"Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yea, I know. Uh-huh. The baka neko and I are keeping an eye out but I'm not sure when the cycle will begin again," He paused again, but this time it was to collect his thoughts. "I - I don't want to see her hurt. She's really a nice girl...and extremely brave and hard- working...what? NO! Of course not...I know what happened before...don't worry, I won't make that mistake...Hatori, what should I do? Hmmm? You're going to come?! Oh...I guess that's good. Power in numbers, you know. Huh?! My brother? And Shigure? Oh god, no! I don't care about Kagura...I'm going to enjoy that when I see the neko's face but...what?! What do you mean too late? Hello? Hello? HATORI!" he slammed the phone back down onto the receiver. "Oh great."  
  
* * *  
  
Tohru's knees weakened as she looked around her humongous room. The incident before had really spooked her and she was almost afraid to turn out the lights for bed. A cold wind caressed her and she shivered involuntarily. She gulped, switched off the light, and dove for her bed. She pulled the covers up to her chin and closed her eyes tightly. 'Oh man, it feels even colder in my bed...god, I really need to check the heating system tomorrow.'  
  
A sound from her window abruptly cut into her thoughts. "Eep!" She sat up and as her eyes grew adjusted to the darkness, she saw that it was Kyou with his dark red eyes. "Oh, Kyou-kun, is something wrong? Did you see another cat?"  
  
"Shhh! I sensed something. Tohru, are you o-" he was pushed roughly aside as another person crawled through the window. She sweatdropped. 'Wow. It's getting to be a really popular entrance.'  
  
"Kuso nezumi! Why'd you push me?!" Kyou growled.  
  
Yuki jumped into the room gracefully and brushed his silvery tendrils out of his eyes. "Simple. You were in the way." The fire-haired boy gritted his teeth and the boys were soon ensued in a verbal battle.  
  
Tohru sighed. 'How come they always pick her room in the middle of the night to have a fight? At least, this time they didn't bring their swords.' All of a sudden, she felt something icy-cold trail up her back, along her spine. She shivered at the tingling feeling and felt numbed. She frowned and turned around to see a pale, scarred woman with long tangled black hair lying besides her in her bed, a white hand reaching out towards her. Tohru sat there, paralyzed, her eyes widening in horror.  
  
The woman sat up slowly, her sunken eyes glittering. She smiled darkly, blood dripping down her chin. The scars that ran down her face festered, little white maggots wriggling in its home. She cupped her freezing hands around Tohru's face and whispered, "You're so pretty...but not as beautiful as me...no, not as beautiful..." Her eyes darkened venomously and she wrapped her hands around Tohru's neck and began to squeeze.  
  
Tohru choked and tried to pry the woman's hands off. "TOHRU!" Kyou yelled out. "Honda-san!" Yuki shouted. "Baka neko, don't just stand there!"  
  
The woman hissed at the boys, floating out of bed and dragging Tohru with her. Tohru dangled helplessly in the female's grip, her face already turning blue.  
  
Kyou closed his eyes and held out his arms. "I call upon the element fire!" The radiant sword from yesterday materialized before him, fiery flames flickering around it. The boy opened his dark ruby eyes and seized the golden handle.  
  
Yuki, in a similar fashion, chanted. "I call upon the element ice!" Once again, his sword from yesterday appeared, breaking free of luminous ice. His lilac hair billowed and he grabbed his silver sword, his amethyst eyes flashing.  
  
Kyou lifted his sword but before he could charge the woman, Yuki tripped him. "Baka neko, what are you going to do?! Stab your blade straight through Honda-san into the target?" By that time, Tohru was already gasping weakly.  
  
Kyou snarled and leaped up, this time closing his eyes and chanting some words. Yuki held up his own rapier and intoned along:  
  
"I, MASTER OF THEE, MAKE MY SUMMON!  
  
HEAR MY CALL AND HEED ME WELL!  
  
RELINQUISH THY POWER AND  
  
EXTINGUISH THY ENEMIES!!!"  
  
A flare of fire and a blast of ice came bursting out from their swords. Tohru shut her eyes as she realized they were heading straight toward her. A gust of cold wind blew across her right side and a draft of hot air came over her left. A dreadful shriek came from behind and as the hold around her neck disappeared, she collapsed to the floor, coughing hard.  
  
"Honda-san! Are you okay?" she looked up into two pairs of concerned eyes.  
  
She nodded feebly, holding her throat. She got up and in her daze, pitched forward. Both boys reached out their hands and *POOF* *POOF*.  
  
Once again, she hit the floor hard. "Huh? Sohma-kun? Kyou-kun?" She blinked as she came face to face with a scowling orange cat and a tiny white mouse with huge purple eyes. 'Okaa-san, first I saw a ghost, next she tried to kill me, then Sohma-kun and Kyou-kun rescue me by blasting fire and ice from their magical swords, and finally they turn into animals before my eyes. I think I'm going to be sick.'  
  
Tohru fainted dead away.  
  
* * *  
  
Alright, people! Reviews! Reviews! Oh dear, I seemed to have misplaced my reviews...can you possibly give me some out of the kindness in your hearts?? Hehe...hope you like the fic so far...give me some feedback, kk? ^_^  
  
~Maeven~ 


	3. Ghostbusters

Chapter Three: "Ghostbusters"  
  
"Honda-san? Honda-san? Are you okay?"  
  
"Oi! Tohru! Wake up already!"  
  
She moaned and opened her eyes slowly. "EEP!" She re-closed them quickly.  
  
"Tohru? What? What's the matter? We turned back human already."  
  
"Yes...I can see that...but why are you, um, naked?"  
  
"Huh? Oh. Oops. Yea, keep your eyes closed for a minute." There was the sound of clothes rustling and then a smack.  
  
"Baka neko, you grabbed my shoe."  
  
"Grrrrr...great, now I have to go disinfect my hand."  
  
"OK, Honda-san, you can open your eyes now. We're fully clothed."  
  
She opened one eye first and then the other. Both boys were blushing and avoiding her eyes. "Eh! It's okay! I didn't see anything...not much anyway...eh!! I don't mean that you guys don't have much to see...I just didn't see it, I mean, much...I mean, I didn't mean to see anything improper...and I didn't! Not much anyways..."  
  
Yuki chuckled at her flustered chatter. "It's okay, Honda-san."  
  
Suddenly, a huge blast of wind whirled into the room from the window. Tohru's hair whipped around her face and she squinted against the force. "It is another ghost?!" she screamed, her voice getting carried off.  
  
Kyou held his stance and his orange hair billowed. She stared up into his pale face. "No...it's something worse."  
  
A loud cry echoed and it took Tohru a while before she could make out the words through the piercing whistle of the wind. "K...O...K...KY...UN...KYOU...KYOU-KUNNN!!!" A petite brown-haired girl with a white fan burst in from the window and threw herself at the boy. "KYOU-KUN!! Here I was worrying about you and you're here in another girl's room! How could you?!" She gripped Kyou in an armlock and he strugged desperately to breathe.  
  
"Sohma-kun! Help Kyou-kun! She's just like that woman from before! She's going to kill me!"  
  
Yuki leaned against the wall and chuckled softly. "Nah...this is just how Kagura shows her affection."  
  
Tohru turned back to the scene; Kagura was presently digging a hole in the floor with Kyou.  
  
"Enough, Kagura. Any longer and even I won't be able to revive him." A new voice interrupted and everyone turned to see a tall handsome man in a suit; his bangs fell partially into his eyes, covering the left one completely.  
  
"Hatori. Where did you come in?" Yuki asked in surprise.  
  
"The door," the man retorted. "It was unlocked if anyone bothered to check it."  
  
'At least someone is finally using the proper entrance,' Tohru thought dazily. Hatori folded his arms and like the other two guys, he began to study her carefully.  
  
Yuki arched an eyebrow. "How come you're here so fast? It's the middle of the night?"  
  
Hatori broke his gaze and shrugged to the boy, "They were so excited, they didn't want to wait."  
  
Yuki twitched, "Oh...they."  
  
"Hahahahahaha!! Of course! It's not everyday the Sohmas get together like this! It's so nice to reunite! Oh, what a big happy family!!" A long silver haired man leaned provocatively against the doorway and grinned sexily.  
  
Yuki twitched again.  
  
Kyou screamed while trying to unlatch himself from Kagura, "Big happy family?! You must be crazy! I haven't met a more dysfunctional family than this one!"  
  
"That's mean, Kyoukichi-kun," the man pouted.  
  
"Eh? What's with all the noise in here?" another black-haired male came into the room with a cheerful smile. "Is there a party? Oh, wow, a pretty high school girl!!" He fixated his eyes on Tohru and leered, "Ah, my precious flower, would you like -"  
  
Yuki smashed the new stranger into the ground, his vein throbbing in his temple. "Still the same old pervert."  
  
The silver haired male smiled happily, "Aw, Yuki! You're sticking up for me! See, Gure-san? Here I was, thinking I was your only pretty flower...that'll teach you not to cheat on me!!" Tohru sweatdropped.  
  
Yuki snapped, "Who said I was helping you...and never say those words again!! It's disgusting!"  
  
The fallen man quickly shot up and clapped his hands, "So you were protecting this lovely flower? What? Is she your girlfriend?"  
  
The long haired man chimed in, "Awww...Yuki's all grown up and entering the phase of romance!"  
  
The lavender haired boy flushed but before he could send the two men up the ceiling, a curt voice cut in, "God, why was I born into this family? Such idiots. Every time we see each other, I get such a migraine." A tiny boy glared at them in the doorway. He was standing protectively in front of a small orange haired girl who was peeking at them around his shoulder. A tall black and white haired boy towered over them, looking at them with a cool stoic expression.  
  
Another man crashed through them and bowed crazily, "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry for being late!! I was driving and I was listening to Hiro's talking and I was apologizing and I drove past the exit sign!! I'm so sorry! And then I put Haru in control of the map and we got even more lost!! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry for not handling the situation better!! I'm so sorry for not being a better driver! It was all my fault for not paying attention and now I made you all wait and worry! I'm sorry!! GOMEN NASAI!!!"  
  
"It's okay. We didn't worry about you at all!" the "pervert" waved his hand cheerfully. Everyone sweatdropped.  
  
"Then I'm sorry for taking up your time! I'm sorry! I'm sorry for bothering you! I'm so sorry!"  
  
Tohru was beginning to feel faint and a little self-conscious with so many pairs of eyes examining her at once. Her eyes swirled and she was starting to feel claustrophobic.  
  
Kyou stared at her in alarm. "Oi! Tohru! Don't faint again!"  
  
"Faint?!" a blonde haired bounded into the room and peered up at her. "Ne, pretty girl! I bet a hug would make you feel all better!" *POOF* A bunny snuggled comfortably in her arms.  
  
Everyone stared in shock and Kyou quickly plucked the rabbit out of her hold by its ears, shaking it a couple of times. "You crazy?! Is this how you greet all strangers?!"  
  
"Just cute ones!"  
  
"Thank god she already saw us in our animal forms. How would we have explained this?!"  
  
Tohru bit her lip, "Um, you still didn't really explain it to me yet."  
  
Everyone ignored her. The bunny wagged its cotton ball tail and tweaked its ear. "She saw you in your animal forms? So you guys hugged her too? Hmmm..."  
  
Both boys reddened. "IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!"  
  
The man with the bangs sighed and turned to the girl, "Please...allow me to explain before you go crazy."  
  
She nodded weakly. "I would like that."  
  
* * *  
  
"First of all, my name is Sohma Hatori, Yuki and Kyou's cousin. These other people here are also blood relations of us...no matter how much we tried to deny it...believe me, I checked the genes...and double checked again," the man stated. "This corrupt man here - " The man who called her his "pretty flower" waved merrily. "- is Shigure. This equally idiotic man here -" The long silvered hair man winked gaily. "- is Ayame...and to Yuki's dismay, his brother."  
  
Tohru blinked and looked back and forth from the dark faced Yuki to the grinning Ayame. "I, um, sort of see the resemblance...sort of."  
  
"This bouncing blonde boy a.k.a the rabbit is Momiji. This scowling boy is Hiro. The shy girl he's standing possessively next to is Kisa. The excessively apologetic man here is Ritsu. The quiet black and white haired boy standing next to Yuki is Haru. And the girl who has her arms around Kyou's neck is Kagura. Welcome to the Sohma family."  
  
Tohru smiled. "Um, well, it's really very nice to meet all of you...but can one of you possibly also explain the ghosts, the magical weapons, the transformations into animals, the Sohma's relation to this house, why Yuki and Kyou have two separate houses, why you guys don't live together, why you guys are all of a sudden here, why my house is a battlefield, why my room appears to be a meeting place..." She paused to take a breath and tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Am I missing anything else?"  
  
The Sohmas sweatdropped. "Um, it's kind of a long story..."  
  
Tohru responded, "It's okay. I have the time."  
  
Yuki sighed, "All right, you see, in fact, the Sohmas are a very...complicated family. We have had a long history of battling ghosts and sending them off to wherever they belong before they can harm humankind -"  
  
"Oh...so you guys are ghostbusters?" Tohru asked.  
  
Everyone winced. Haru responded in a monotonous voice, "We prefer the term 'supernatural mediators'."  
  
Shigure continued, "Anyways, as 'supernatural mediators', we have to travel a lot since ghosts don't just appear in one area...hence, the Sohmas are pretty spread apart. Last week, I was in Africa, Ayame in France, Hatori in America, Ritsu in London, and the kids were divided between us as apprentices."  
  
"Apprentices?" Hiro snorted. "More like we're guardians for you. I had to keep you from hitting on the female ghosts twice. God, I swear, your tastes get more and more low each day."  
  
"And I am not a kid," Haru said, his eyes gleaming lightly.  
  
"Oh...yea," Shigure chuckled nervously. "Haru just follows one of us because he gets L-O-S-T a lot and if he goes off by himself, we're afraid he'll drift off in the middle of the ocean or something and get really L-O- S-T."  
  
"BAKA! I can spell!" the reserved Haru suddenly barked and he leaped up with a crazed look in his eye. "Are ya looking down on me? Huh? Huh?"  
  
"Actually, you're the one who's glaring down on me."  
  
"OH?! Are ya mocking me now? Huh? You old man, stand up and fight!!!"  
  
Tohru stared in alarm and shot up to her feet...or at least, tried to. She found her rate going at the speed of a turtle and she turned her head really slowly to Yuki. "Wh-at's-hap-pen-ing...?"  
  
Yuki sighed and closed his eyes at a snail's pace. "So-rry. Ha-ru-turns-in- to-a-Black- mode-when-he-gets-an-gered. At-this-point-his-po-wer-tends-come- out-un-ex-pec-ted-ly. But-don't-wo-rry. It-on-ly-lasts-for a few moments or so. There, it's over. Yea, Haru's in charge of time. He can slow it down for everybody; it's pretty useful...when you need to escape an enemy. Too bad it doesn't last for long...he can only slow it down between intervals of five minutes or so."  
  
Kyou rolled his eyes. "Time isn't really a good power for the guy anyway...he usually ends up wasting it by getting lost."  
  
"Whaddya say, you stupid neko?!" the black and white haired boy clenched his fists.  
  
"I said, you have absolutely no sense of direction at all and even if you had twenty-four hours to spare, you'll probably waste that just to find a map!"  
  
"You idiotic cat! You're insulting me when you're the one who got us cursed in the first place?!"  
  
Kyou flared, "You fat cow! I'm going to crush you!"  
  
"Not before I kill you!" In a flash, Haru was before Kyou and punching the boy. The cat snarled and leaped at his attacker.  
  
Tohru blinked. "Can he speed up time too? How did he get there so fast?"  
  
"He didn't. Five minutes passed and he just slowed time again for us. His normal walking seems like hyper-speed mode to us," Yuki explained.  
  
Momiji grinned happily. "Ne, Tohru! If you want to see speed, look at me!" A breeze brushed past her gently and he remained standing there, beaming.  
  
"Um, what?" Tohru asked, confused.  
  
The boy faltered. "Oh. You didn't see. Here, I'll slow it down." The boy moved and this time, she saw a blur of yellow hair dart in a circle around her.  
  
"Suigoi!! Momiji-kun's so fast!!"  
  
The boy jumped up and down gleefully. "Yup! Yup! That's my power!!"  
  
"Everybody in the Sohma family have a special power?" Tohru inquired softly.  
  
They nodded and Kagura stepped forward with her fan in hand. "In case you didn't guess, my power is wind. That's how I blew into your room...and it's also a part of the reason why Kyou and I are such a beautiful couple!"  
  
The boy flared, "Nani?!"  
  
Kagura sighed happily, "No matter how blazing his temper is, I can always cool him down with my loving breeze." She flicked open her fan and a tornado whipped Kyou up into the air, crashing him against the wall.  
  
"Ugh...I'll take a ghost anytime before facing you..."  
  
"Nani?!"  
  
"Kagura-san, you really shouldn't be breaking Tohru's house like that!!"  
  
"Ano, I don't think Kyou-kun is conscious anymore."  
  
"Relax, Honda-san, a cat has nine lives, remember?"  
  
"...are you sure that works for him in human form?"  
  
"...no...but somehow, I don't really care much."  
  
"Ah...oh...it's really nice to meet your family."  
  
"...you'll regret it in the next twenty-four hours or so."  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
All right, explanation of the curse, the ghosts, etc. will be continued in next chapter because I'm tired now and need to study ^_^ Thanks to all who took the time to review. Please continue to do so!!  
  
~Maeven~ 


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